More than 9,800 Utahns became homeless for the first time last year, marking a nearly 10% increase from 2022.
Those distressing statistics were included in new data released Friday by Utah’s Office of Homeless Service. In the Beehive State, according to the report, the number of people experiencing homelessness is still growing despite recent state and local efforts to address the problem.
“It’s not surprising to me,” said Office of Homeless Services Director Tricia Davis, “but it’s frustrating.”
Utah’s annual point-in-time count found about 3,700 individuals experiencing homelessness across one night in January — a 5% increase compared to the year prior. Nearly 1,000 of those people were sleeping outside.
In Salt Lake County, meanwhile, emergency shelter beds were essentially at capacity year-round.
The new data may be frustrating to Davis, but it also reveals that some efforts are working.
“We’re really going to be focused on making sure that we’ve got those immediate crisis interventions addressed,” Davis said, “and that we are still focusing on deeply affordable housing.”
One data point in particular shows the importance of permanent housing: 93% of people housed in long-term housing projects either maintained their housing or obtained permanent housing elsewhere, Davis said.
But Utah still faces a major need for more housing options. Salt Lake City alone lacks 5,500 deeply affordable housing units, the city estimates.
Many of the deeply affordable housing projects that are already funded are set to open around 2026 or 2027, Davis said.
“It might be some time,” she said, “before we see an impact from our funding directly.”
The biggest takeaway for Davis: The solution is to prevent Utahns from becoming homeless in the first place.
The state could help through a wide array of programs, such as flexible funding to help people who need immediate car repairs or other urgent bills paid, mental health counseling, job training and child care help.
The Legislature set aside more than $4 million dollars for homelessness prevention this past session, and those funds could make a difference for the nearly 275,000 Utahns living below the poverty line.
“We want to highlight that addressing poverty through sustainable economic opportunities, affordable housing initiatives and robust social safety nets can significantly contribute to preventing homelessness before it occurs,” Davis said. “We also know it’s harder to get individuals and families out of the homeless services system once they enter.”
Last month, Salt Lake County unveiled a five-year plan to tackle homelessness. The county would work to build a total of 1,000 new housing units — 300 new group home housing units and 700 new permanent supportive housing units.
Some of the funds for the ambitious plan are already set aside. Salt Lake County residents will vote in November on a $507 million general obligation bond that would go toward resources and the construction of a “Justice and Accountability Center.”
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